I hope spring is here, finally.

I sure hope spring has sprung here. I got my seedlings started earlier this year. Had them all growing under flourescent lights in the summer kitchen till this past Saturday. We decided that instead of the added expense of covering our little greenhouse with some type of plastic we would just opt to use a cold frame for the seedlings as I am not starting near as many as I normally do. But still a plenty. So Rodger and Jason took off Friday evening after work and went to Lowes to pick up 1 sheet of the clear poly carbonate panels to cover the cold frame. Less chance of hail damage in the event we have that. And hoping we dont for sure.  So they got my cold frame built and put inside the fence in my herb garden to keep the dog out of it. She likes to carry off things she finds with our smell on it. She gave the guys a fit stealing their building material and tools Saturday. Poor Sasha had many new not so nice names that day. But they got er done. Then I got all the seed trays moved in and watered with compost tea. I do have some nice sturdy seedlings this year. yay me.

 Monday we had rain off and on all day so I spent my day going in and out of the house to take the top off, put the top on, repeat. This lil cold frame can heat up really quick with very little sunshine. This is so much easier to heat than trying to keep my little greenhouse warm enough for healthy plants. Tomatoes and peppers need warmer soil to sprout and grow than some other seeds. I did invest in a couple heat mats that are made just for the seed trays I use to supply some heat from the bottom to warm the soil and speed up the sprouting process of peppers and tomatoes. They worked just great. I had misplaced some of my bell pepper seeds and could only find the orange heirloom variety when I was starting the seeds. The next day I located the other pepper seeds and decided to start some of those as well. I used a deeper, about 6 inch deep, crate that I had to line with a feed bag, add soil and sow the seeds. The soil being deeper I could not use the heat mats under this crate. So needless to say I have tomatoes and peppers started one day using the heat mats that are several inches tall and a crate with pepper and some Amish paste tomato seeds that are just starting to sprout and come up where I wasn't able to use the heat mats. Heat made all the difference in how quickly the seeds came up. Also this year I have been using all natural fertilizer on my seedlings. I procured some composted goat manure from some friends and am making compost tea to use on the plants. In this compost tea I added some Lactobacilli serum to the bucket in which I have the manure for the tea. I have had no problem what so ever with damping off disease this year starting seeds. That in itself is a big plus for me trying to start seeds really early. Normally I just start my seeds in the greenhouse in early April no later than the second week. When we get cooler nights the soil cools even with the warmth of the sun during the day and I usually end up losing a lot of seedlings from damping off. In the greenhouse I could use about 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to about 1 and half cups water in spray bottle and mist the soil where the seedling are and this will sometimes stop the damping off and save the plants. But dang who needs the extra hassle. Not had to use that this year at all. I am very thankful and happy with my little bit of success  with seed starts.

Saturday I got my herb garden weeded and all cleaned out of debris from last season and over the winter. Talk about hard on the damaged back and bad legs and knees. Oh mercy, Sunday was tough. Anyway, that bed is all ready to add more herbs seedlings to when danger of frost is past. Maybe late April or early May will be safe enough to plant them without protection. I still have the strawberry bed to weed and get mulched. I planted 25 new strawberry plants this year to replace some that were spent. I intend to use straw to mulch them in with from now on. I learned the hard way that wood mulch was just too coarse a material to allow the runners to reach the soil and make roots and renew the bed.  Some of us just have to learn things the hard way. Was nice to not have to spend much time at all weeding but dang in the long run cost me in having to replace some plants. Chalk that one up to a well learned lesson at the school of hard knocks. I seem to learn a lot of things at that school.

Last week on one of the warmer days I got the fruit trees sprayed for the second time. Most of the stone fruits and pears had already lost their blooms. Not sure if they were lost from the light snow and cold or just that they were done. But the other trees, apples and nut trees are in 1/4 inch green tip stage and time for a spray. Got the neem apray mixed and Jason put the spray tank in the bucket of the little tractor and hooked the pump to the battery and off we went to spray. We had to use the tractor as my 4 wheeler is out of commission for a bit till the guys get a chance to work on it. Got er done tho.. At this point it is just wait and see how much damage the cold snap did to the trees that had already bloomed. Seems most of them were in the "process" of blooming and not in full bloom. I have noticed the pears are still making blooms so I might get a bit of fruit after all. God willing and we dont get any more serious freezes. We will take what we can get and be thankful.

We have been looking around for an "estate rake" to use in the big section of yard and orchard. An estate rake is used to rake up grass clippings to take off the yard. Usually pulled behind a 4 wheeler or mower. My intention is to use the clippings to compost for organic matter to add to the garden and orchard.  In reading and researching holistic orchard maintenance a lot of focus is on soil microbes and helping keep healthy soil. One way to do this is using the grass clippings to mulch trees and then encouraging the clippings to decompose to supply nutrients to the trees. Lactobacilli is one culture that aids in this process. I found online a method for making the lactobacilli serum to treat the soil and compost with to speed up the process.  A very simple process all in all. It is started rather simply. I will post this info in another post very soon. This serum can also be used to spray chicken and livestock buildings to eliminate odor from manure. It helps to decompose the same manure when put in compost as well. Anyway I have a science lab in my kitchen most days. One of these days I will have a mess when an experiment goes amiss. Till then I keep trying stuff.

In the house I learned to make a new bread that we are now addicted to. It is focaccia bread. Its an artisan Mediterranean bread. The authentic version has olives in it but none of us like olives so I dont use those. It was odd to me at first to make a yeast bread and not use bread flour but recipe uses plain all purpose flour. I will share the version I make for us. I use my Kitchenaid mixer to make this as I cant use my hands long enough to knead bread anymore.

Focaccia Bread

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of hot water in Kitchenaid bowl
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

In mixer bowl with hot water add in sugar, and 1 cup of bread flour, add yeast on top of this flour. Add remaining flour and then the salt. With dough hook attached mix ingredients a bit, maybe 1 minute. Pour in olive oil and mix well and continue kneading for about 5 minutes. When dough is smooth and elastic, turn off mixer and cover bowl and let dough rise till nearly double in size.
Prep 2 cookie sheets by oiling them with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. When dough is ready turn on mixer and stir down dough. Divide in half. Press each half on the cookie sheets pressing with fingers till it is about 1/4 inch thick. Let sit for about 10 minutes. No need to try to be perfect, this is artisan style bread.
To prepare to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using fingers make indentions all over dough and drizzle with a good olive oil. Sprinkle on about half teaspoon dried rosemary over each pan with dough. A good sprinkle of parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chopped sun dried tomatoes that have been preserved in oil. You can also drizzle a bit of the oil from the dried tomatoes over bread as well. Top with a light layer of shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese.  You can add on some chopped olives if you enjoy those as well. Put in oven and bake till light brown. Tear into pieces at serving or cut like bread sticks and serve with a marinara sauce. Enjoy!!
We can make a meal on this and a bowl of marinara sauce.  This is a bread that you can top any way you like really . If you love garlic cloves by all means slice some onto dough. A thin layer of pizza sauce would be yummy with your choice of pizza toppings. An easy bread that can be used many ways. Limited only by the imagination.

Not much else happening here on the homestead, so till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

stella

Too wet to plow and we cant dance

We have had rain today and its kinda cool out there. Sure does make the joints hurt a good bit. I think traveling in a vehicle makes me hurt more than standing or walking these days. Jason and I had to go to Lexington yesterday afternoon to check on mom. The nursing home here had failed to notify me that she had been sent out and admitted to the hospital with a gall bladder attack. Did I mention how pissed I am over that? They will hear from me in the morning and probably wont like it. Mom had surgery this morning and the doc said all went well with the surgery. I am sure it will be a rather long recovery for her with her being so uncooperative and all. Just pray she don't get pneumonia or other complications. I will be back down there tomorrow to check on her again.
As for things here on the farm. Rodger did get the rest of the corn picked yesterday while Jason and I were gone. We will have plenty of corn for cornmeal and what ever else we decide to do with it. We already have a good amount shelled for the chickens this winter so they will be happy when it gets cold. They eat more corn as the weather gets colder. The starch helps them produce body heat and they stay warmer and lay better too.
Yesterday while we were out of town and in the big city Jason bought me an enameled cast iron dutch oven that I had wanted for a long time. They are great for browning roasts and such and then can go straight to the oven with fear of unseasoned a regular cast iron dutch oven. I tried it out today and made a venison roast for a late lunch. It turned out great, moist, tender and tasty. I also made homemade rolls. Yeah I cheat and use the bread machine to knead the dough then I shape them and let them proof and bake. The 3 of us ate 18 large rolls.
Not much else happening here right now on the farm. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Family and good food

That's what the holidays are for us. We had our family Christmas dinner today when we all could be together. I had roast turkey breast and cornbread stuffing. A ham fixed in the crock pot with crushed pineapple, brown sugar and pepsi cooked on low all night. We also had corn from our garden, green beans, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, gravy and cranberry sauce. I had made some snack foods yesterday to keep everyone happy while they waited for dinner. We had peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, bourbon balls, cheese ball, fruit and fruit dip. Everyone ate their fill and then took a nap.
I cleaned up the kitchen a bit and went out to turn the chickens out for a bit and rake my mulch back into place that the chickens had scratched all over. We put a timer on the light in the chicken house to extend the amount of light the birds needed so they would continue laying through winter. It seems to have helped some. I life I have learned that most birds and animals have more of a survival instinct than do humans. The pullets will pick the corn out of the scratch feed when we give it to them. The corn is higher in starches and sugars that help the birds produce body heat and stay warm in cold weather. When I was growing up we always had chickens and dad would feed them nothing but corn all year long. They didn't eat much in summer but in winter they did and I never knew of one succumbing to the cold weather. And his hens always produced plenty of eggs all winter long. A well fed animal will survive the harshest of conditions where as a poorly fed one will succumb to the elements. I think that is the way God designed them. That's my take on it.
There are people in the kitchen again so it must be time for seconds or thirds. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Not prepared for winter

After its too late we always decide we are not prepared for winter as we would like to be. On Friday night we started getting rain and snow, then it turned to all snow and ended with about 4 inches here at our place. The temperature was not too bad at about 35 or so. It was the wet heavy snow that takes down power lines and trees, which is exactly what happened. That stuff was treacherous to drive in as well. Our son Rob was graduating from college on Saturday morning and I suggested to hubby that we go stay in the town where he was graduating, but we didn't. On Friday night we lost power and got the predicted amount of snow. When state road crews are getting trucks off the road with chains on them its not a good idea to try to travel. So we missed Robs graduation ceremony. I so wanted to be there for him, he has worked hard for this day. They did take lots of pictures for us and Josh video taped it for us to have, and Jason called and put his cell phone on speaker so we could hear them call Robs name in real time. We really appreciate them all going to the trouble for us. But later in the day when the roads cleared a bit we did make it out to Lexington to have dinner with them. That was really nice and we had a good time. Got back home last evening and still didn't have power here. So we started a fire and kinda went to bed early. The power finally came back on about 8 this morning. I could survive without electric but dang it sure is nice to have. Now to decided what is for lunch...................
Maybe a stew would be nice with some cornbread. And at the request of one of my readers here is my recipe for cornbread made with homegrown cornmeal.

CORNBREAD

2 1/2 cups corn meal(preferably home ground)
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda (only if you use real buttermilk)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water + 2 tablespoons buttermilk powder
OR
2 cups whole milk or buttermilk
2 whole eggs
1- 10 inch cast iron skillet
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In cast iron skillet put about 4 tablespoons butter and about 6 tablespoons olive oil, or you are best to use about 1/2 inch of bacon grease in skillet or any combination of the above to equal 1/2inch. Heat skillet in oven till hot.
Mix bread ingredients well, it should be the consistency of cake batter. You can adjust the milk to the right consistency. Pour batter into hot skillet, the melted grease should come up over the sides and and run into the top of the batter. This makes the crust crispy. If ya want a more tender less crispy cornbread use less grease or oil in skillet. Bake about 30 to 40 minutes till nice an brown and the top springs back when pressed. Cut in wedges or squares to serve, with more butter.
*I like the crisp outer edges of the cornbread and everyone else like the tender middle part, so we have the best of both worlds here. Also, even tho I add sugar to my cornbread, it is not sweet. The tiny bit of sugar just adds something extra to the taste as salt does any other dish.

Enjoy! Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

More preparations for spring

Hubby has been on vacation this week and has managed to get some things done here on the place. The garden fence has been taken down and the garden plot mowed and then turned to be ready for spring. This is the first time in years that we have managed to get the garden turned before winter. In spring all we will need to do is disk the ground and plant. It needs to be a lot drier to turn than to disk which is what delays our planting every year. He also turned about an acre to plant some corn for feed for chickens and what ever else I might possibly have. So as of now we are one step ahead in that area. He probably could have gotten a lot more done outside if I could get out an help a little. But with a bad back and the right arm still in the healing process, I am banished to the house.
Today they got 2 of the deer skinned and cut up for the freezer. Got a good deal of meat from them. Wont need to buy beef for a while as we use the deer meat in place of beef till its all gone. Still have 2 more deer to process probably on Friday. All this is up to Rodger and Jason, not much you can do with one hand when it comes to butchering.
I finally got some baking done for the holiday. Finally got a dried apple stack cake made, this is the first one I have made in many years. Good thing I dried a lot of apples last year. The cake looks really good, so we shall see how it tastes tomorrow. I still need to make a couple apple and a couple cherry pies as well. These will be using the pie filling I canned last year as well. So I am off to make pies. From our family to your, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Till next time blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

The legal system stinks

The legal system in this country stinks. Especially if you work for a living and the ones around you don't. I sat through civil court today waiting my turn which didn't come till late afternoon. The most cases were of lenders suing for none payment from debtors. At least 20 such in our small county alone. I can only imagine what it would be like in a large town. The other party in my case did not even have the decency to appear in court. The judge awarded judgement in my favor but in no uncertain terms indicated to me that I have no way to collect. The people are on the "draw" and own nothing tangible so that makes them "judgement proof" under the law. Sickening to say the least. They can walk free owing me 2 months rent and 4 utility bills totalling over$1000. What the hell happened to honesty and integrity in this country. I was raised to believe a persons word was his or her bond. I may be just a little old fashioned, but that's all fine with me. People like them are looking for a hand out not a helping hand. Sure hope they use me for a future reference when they try to rent another place. OK off my soap box for now.
After that depressing bit of info, at least the weather was nice today. Very warm for this time of year. Supposed to start cooling down later this week and rain some I think. Tomorrow may be a good day to stay in and do some baking. Maybe some banana nut bread and maybe a rum cake. Yeah that sounds like a plan to me. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Another full day

Today was another busy one for us here. This morning I got the remainder of the chicken stock canned and all that I have canned has sealed. You know stock is good when you can refrigerate it and it jells like jello. It had to be heated before I could put it in the jars to process. But its all done.
This afternoon I got started painting the root cellar on the inside. We had only bought 1 gallon of epoxy paint and that did the four walls. Then the son was off to the local hardware store to purchase another one. Lucky it was half price. Just happened to be a lighter color which was OK. I used a roller to put the paint on and lined my paint tray with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Good thing too because the paint really adheres well. Got the ceiling and floor done and decided to also paint the back wall the lighter color to make the cellar a little lighter inside. This will also make it easier to clean and disinfect when the time comes.
Jason used the pressure washer to clean all the mud and debris off the footer that is exposed on the outside in preparation for the water proofing which he is going to put on tomorrow. After that dries a while then the drain line will be put around the base of the cellar and covered with a layer of gravel and then straw, which will be hay in our case. This prevents the dirt from sifting through the gravel and clogging the drain line over time. All this requires is a strong back and weak mind, and I am pretty sure we can handle that.
Here is a little treat that you may enjoy.

Fudge Batter Pudding

2 tablespoons butter melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour(plain)
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 2/3 cup boiling water

Mix butter, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla together. Sift flour,3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, add alternately to above mixture with milk. Mix well and add nuts and blend. set aside while you prep the pan.
Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 5 tablespoons cocoa, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and boiling water. Pour this into a 10 by 6 inch baking dish. Drop batter by tablespoons full into pan on top of this mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Serve warm. Sauce will thicken when it cools.
(This is like a brownie floating in hot fudge sauce, awesome with vanilla ice cream)
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

stella

Making Banana Nut Bread

This is the best recipe by far for banana nut bread and very easy and cheap to make. As you can tell from the photo it didn't last long at my house. So good I thought I would share the recipe for you to try. I doubled the recipe to use the naners I had.

Banana Nut Bread

3 ripe bananas well mashed 1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs well beaten 1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 1 loaf standard loaf pan. Beat the bananas and eggs together in a large bowl, Stir in flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and vanilla extract. Mix well. Stir in chopped nuts and pour into loaf pan and bake 1 hour. It will be a little dark in color, but if you think it will get too dark, reduce temp to 300 for last 20 minutes or so. Turn out and serve warm or cold as you like.

Enjoy and till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.
stella

Making Zucchini Bread

Today I thought I would share my recipe for zucchini bread to store or as some call it, can in wide mouth pint jars. So here is the ingredient list:

3 cups plain flour
1 teas baking powder
1 teas baking soda
1 teas ground cinnamon
1 teas fresh ground nutmeg
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
3 whole eggs
2 cups white sugar
2 teas vanilla
3 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini

Prepare wide mouth straight neck pint jars by oiling well. Cut rounds of parchment paper to fit the bottom of each jar and oil this as well. Set jars on baking sheet or in a cake pan.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Combine the first 6 ingredients in large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. In separate bowl combine oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla and applesauce and blend well. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in zucchini and blend evenly. Pour batter about 1/2 inch above the half way point on the jars. Put in oven and bake for 1 hour, no less. Have jar flats and rings hot and when bread is done remove from oven and immediately screw on lids and bands. Will seal and I have had some of this bread in storage for 2 years and it is still perfect. This recipe will make about 7 pints. Also can be baked in 2 oiled and floured loaf pans.
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

stella